SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A University of Rhode Island design professor has received a grant to conduct research on space attire that he hopes will lead to the creation of new clothing prototypes.

Karl Aspelund won a $15,000 grant from URI's Council for Research. He and three graduate students will study clothing worn by U.S. and Russian astronauts and explore creating outfits with 3-D printing, in which special printers that use plastics and other materials are used to manufacture three-dimensional objects.

Aspelund says space explorers have to think about ways to clean, recycle and repair clothes in space.

He hopes to make prototypes that could be worn on the International Space Station to test their hygiene, durability and recyclability.

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